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Patriots have allowed more fantasty points to Tight Ends (in my league anyways) than anyone else. I expect Daniels to have a very good game. If we can 'foster' Arian and limit AJ to an average game than we have a very good shot at winning.

The Pats rank 30th in DVOA against TEs. They've been poor against RBs and "other WRs" as well. They actually rank 1st against #2 receivers though and are good vs. #1 WRs (which is a good omen for limiting AJ).

Awesome GT title
I like our chances in this one. Houston's pass-defense has been been more suspect of late, and Brady can take advantage of this. I don't think we are going to put up a boatload of points, but the Pats offense won't be completely shut down. If New England can keep Foster from getting those big plays, and Talib can make Schaub respect him while he covers Johnson, then this could be a big win.

Houston is on the road for 3rd week in a row, and played two long overtime games within the last month.

They will score on us as their O is a bit better then most here think. But I think we are going to score more on them.

41-35 sort of thing.

6/27/09: “We expect [Rondo] to play by the rules and be a leader as a point guard. We need him to be more of a leader,” Ainge said. “There were just a couple situations where he was late this year, I don’t know if he was sitting in his car, but showed up late and the rest of the team was there. We have team rules and you have to be on time. He was fined for being late, he said he was stuck in traffic, and it’s just unacceptable.”

Meteorologists up here are predicting it to be in the mid 50's at kickoff Monday night. Hope that changes.

That's not the good news. Winds of 10-20 MPH, fog, and occasional rain means a mess. It's still not bad. That playoff game v the Titans is what I am hoping for when Manning shows up here.

6/27/09: “We expect [Rondo] to play by the rules and be a leader as a point guard. We need him to be more of a leader,” Ainge said. “There were just a couple situations where he was late this year, I don’t know if he was sitting in his car, but showed up late and the rest of the team was there. We have team rules and you have to be on time. He was fined for being late, he said he was stuck in traffic, and it’s just unacceptable.”

Houston is on the road for 3rd week in a row, and played two long overtime games within the last month.

They will score on us as their O is a bit better then most here think. But I think we are going to score more on them.

41-35 sort of thing.

Yeah, I'm a bit worried about their use of play action which is obviously set up by that excellent running game. If the Pats can shut down Foster (no easy feat), and not fall for the play actions (you can still fall for it even if you shut Foster down), then the Pats should be in excellent shape. Unfortunately, thats much easier said then done.

FYI, to illustrate just how good this Texans D is on play action, Schaub has a 112.0 QB rating on play action passes (which is 4th for QBs with 50+ attempts on play action) vs. just a 87.9 QB rating on all other passes (which is still good but ranks 12th in the NFL and is certainly nothing special).

The thing that sucks here is if we lose, not only is the #1 seed gone, the #2 probably is gone too. Meaning no bye week to start. If we end up at the #4, we might have to play at home, then Denver, then Houston - that's probably too much to ask.

Winning this one and losing to SF keeps the #2 as a solid chance.

Losing both, it's time to start checking the draft boards.

This x infinity. Huge playoff implications in this game. If Pats can win out, Houston gets caught napping in one of the Indy games & Baltimore loses another (Giants?) Pats get #1 seed. But a loss and it's what Bags said.

The thing that sucks here is if we lose, not only is the #1 seed gone, the #2 probably is gone too. Meaning no bye week to start. If we end up at the #4, we might have to play at home, then Denver, then Houston - that's probably too much to ask.

Winning this one and losing to SF keeps the #2 as a solid chance.

Losing both, it's time to start checking the draft boards.

I don't think there is any chance we end up at the #4 spot.

I see New England coming out of the AFC, relatively easily with the exception of the AFC Championship Game which will be tough no matter who the opponent is.

I have said, and will continue to say it. I do not fear Houston or Baltimore, or really anyone in the AFC. These are our biggest threats and my assessments, granted they are biased because I am a New England fan.

#1.) Texans (By Default)

They are not exactly playoff heroes. They gave up 257 yards to Andy Dalton (Rookie) AT HOME last year. Tom Brady will shred their overrated secondary. Stopping Arian Foster is impossible, but we have stopped Ray Rice multiple times. I feel like Andre Johnson is our biggest mismatch, because Talib has the tendency to be over-agressive and get torched. Either way, the Texans do not, and will not (barring a beat down on Monday Night) scare me.

#2.) Ravens

I know Baltimore basically beat us last year, but that team continues to prove that no matter how talented they are, they will always find a way to lose the game they need to win. No amount of injuries can make up for that pathetic performance against Pittsburgh. However, ANYTHING could happen if we have to travel to Baltimore.

#3.) Broncos

The Broncos are riding high with Peyton, and I am actually happy for Peyton after despising him (only for the over the top acclaim he receives while Brady does not). But the Broncos have lost to us, and Brady/BB always find a way to defeat him.

#4.) Steelers

The Steelers are depleted by injuries, most notably Big Ben. I am actually from Pittsburgh so I hear and read all the reports to stay up to date. Ben is not healthy and he will not be healthy until after this season. One solid hit and he could be in serious trouble.

But if he was, the Steelers do pose a legitimate threat to New England. Their press coverage worked wonders on us last season, but with the amount of injuries they have on the defensive and offensive side, I don't see Pittsburgh beating us at Foxboro.

I see New England coming out of the AFC, relatively easily with the exception of the AFC Championship Game which will be tough no matter who the opponent is.

I have said, and will continue to say it. I do not fear Houston or Baltimore, or really anyone in the AFC. These are our biggest threats and my assessments, granted they are biased because I am a New England fan.

#1.) Texans (By Default)

They are not exactly playoff heroes. They gave up 257 yards to Andy Dalton (Rookie) AT HOME last year. Tom Brady will shred their overrated secondary. Stopping Arian Foster is impossible, but we have stopped Ray Rice multiple times. I feel like Andre Johnson is our biggest mismatch, because Talib has the tendency to be over-agressive and get torched. Either way, the Texans do not, and will not (barring a beat down on Monday Night) scare me.

#2.) Ravens

I know Baltimore basically beat us last year, but that team continues to prove that no matter how talented they are, they will always find a way to lose the game they need to win. No amount of injuries can make up for that pathetic performance against Pittsburgh. However, ANYTHING could happen if we have to travel to Baltimore.

#3.) Broncos

The Broncos are riding high with Peyton, and I am actually happy for Peyton after despising him (only for the over the top acclaim he receives while Brady does not). But the Broncos have lost to us, and Brady/BB always find a way to defeat him.

#4.) Steelers

The Steelers are depleted by injuries, most notably Big Ben. I am actually from Pittsburgh so I hear and read all the reports to stay up to date. Ben is not healthy and he will not be healthy until after this season. One solid hit and he could be in serious trouble.

But if he was, the Steelers do pose a legitimate threat to New England. Their press coverage worked wonders on us last season, but with the amount of injuries they have on the defensive and offensive side, I don't see Pittsburgh beating us at Foxboro.

Pats lose to Houston or SF thats 4 losses, if Denver wins out they end up with 3 losses, Baltimore losses to Denver but win their other 3 games they have 4 losses and a tiebreaker over the Pats = Pats end up with the #4 seed. Possible? Yes, Probable? We shall see.

Pats lose to Houston or SF thats 4 losses, if Denver wins out they end up with 3 losses, Baltimore losses to Denver but win their other 3 games they have 4 losses and a tiebreaker over the Pats = Pats end up with the #4 seed. Possible? Yes, Probable? We shall see.

I think the only team I don't want to play on the road for the AFC play-offs would be Denver and to a small degree Baltimore because we usually have their # the last game was a fluke with BS officiating.

I want the bye to rest up our players but as we've seen in the past few years continuous playing when you're hot helps keep that momentum going. So I really wouldn't mind the #3 seed. In other words, #1 or #3 seed imo is our best positioning.

In which we beat the colts, then Denver loses to the steelers (who I think will get quietly healthy) We go onto play Baltimore and Steelers play Texans. Regardless of who we play from there on out I'm confident we can beat them (if we're healthy)